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appendix a 1383
rebels in Umbar was a great peril to Gondor, and a threat to the
fiefs of the south that would prove deadly, if Sauron moved to
open war. At last he got leave of the Steward and gathered a
small fleet, and he came to Umbar unlooked for by night, and
there burned a great part of the ships of the Corsairs. He himself
overthrew the Captain of the Haven in battle upon the quays,
and then he withdrew his fleet with small loss. But when they
came back to Pelargir, to men’s grief and wonder, he would not
return to Minas Tirith, where great honour awaited him.
‘He sent a message of farewell to Ecthelion, saying: ‘‘Other
tasks now call me, lord, and much time and many perils must
pass, ere I come again to Gondor, if that be my fate.’’ Though
none could guess what those tasks might be, nor what summons
he had received, it was known whither he went. For he took
boat and crossed over Anduin, and there he said farewell to his
companions and went on alone; and when he was last seen his
face was towards the Mountains of Shadow.
‘There was dismay in the City at the departure of Thorongil,
and to all men it seemed a great loss, unless it were to Denethor,
the son of Ecthelion, a man now ripe for the Stewardship, to
which after four years he succeeded on the death of his father.
‘Denethor II was a proud man, tall, valiant, and more kingly
than any man that had appeared in Gondor for many lives of
men; and he was wise also, and far-sighted, and learned in lore.
Indeed he was as like to Thorongil as to one of nearest kin, and
yet was ever placed second to the stranger in the hearts of men
and the esteem of his father. At the time many thought that
Thorongil had departed before his rival became his master;
though indeed Thorongil had never himself vied with Denethor,
nor held himself higher than the servant of his father. And in
one matter only were their counsels to the Steward at variance:
Thorongil often warned Ecthelion not to put trust in Saruman
the White in Isengard, but to welcome rather Gandalf the Grey.
But there was little love between Denethor and Gandalf; and
after the days of Ecthelion there was less welcome for the Grey
Pilgrim in Minas Tirith. Therefore later, when all was made
clear, many believed that Denethor, who was subtle in mind
and looked further and deeper than other men of his day, had